for now, the only thing we're growing on this farm is kids - not the goat variety

Month: May 2016

The taxi battles are in full swing here in Santiago, including mass protests and even violence against some Uber drivers and, in a few cases, riders. What follows is an editorial from La Tercera (from around April 16th) that does a good job of capturing some of the nuances of the situation.

The citizenry has been heavily impacted by the images of taxi drivers assaulting Uber drivers. Some of the reported cases include high levels of violence and intimidation, and have even been directed towardthe passengers of these services themselves. These are unacceptable acts,for whichis needed an attitude of greater firmnessby theauthority, which has been limited to condemning the vandalism.

It was not appropriate that the Minister of Transport would initially qualify as "pirates" these type of drivers, because this unfairly muddies the image of these companies and gave rise to questions that likely could lead to violence. It is healthy that the government subsequently hastempered its judgments and is open to seek a regulation for these new services. But against vandalism government can not beindifferent, and it should give sharp signals that the integrity of citizenship is not in question. In this regard, it is essential to preserve the principle that legitimate protest can not be confused with violence.

The union of taxi drivers must assume that this new type of application-based service, with a model of flexible fleet and high standards, with competitive rates, will not be able to be stopped, because it respondsgenuinelytocitizen demands that the current system fails to satisfy. The union's threatening attitude,that these services "must be written off" as a solution, only contributes to their own discredit. The discussion should be oriented towards the taxi park opening and integration of new technologies that facilitate the transport service. Any difference or blame should be channeled through institutional channels, either to the Ministryorto the courts.

Doodle and Rosebud just love to sing, so I'm trying to work hard to stay ahead of them and feed them new music. This morning I thought of a very singable old song about an old turtle that the older kids really liked when they were that age, but I couldn't find the lyrics anywhere, so here they are:

Make a World to make Old Turtle Smile, by Douglas Wood

A breeze upon the lake helps make the world

A falling snowy flake helps make the world

A butterfly, floating by, helps make the world

A tall and growing tree helps make the world

A golden humming bee helps make the world

and every dream you dream helps make the world.

Every time we care, we make the world

Every time we share, we make the world

With every helping hand, we make the world

When we try to understand, we make the world

If we could only see we make the world

It's up to you and me to make the world

Maybe we can make a world to make old turtle smile

A river flowing clean helps make the world

A meadow growing green helps make the world

a falling star, falling far, helps make the world

a yellow harvest moon helps make the world

a summer afternoon helps make the world

and every laugh you laugh helps make the world

And every time we care we make the world

with every hug we share we make the world

with every helping hand we make the world

when we try to understand we make the world

if we could only see we make the world

it's up to you and me to make the world

Maybe we can make a world to make old turtle smile

But every lie that's lied, every lonely tear that's cried

makes the world more tired and weary, makes the world more sad and dreary

And every war that's started makes the world more brokenhearted

We have a special calling, you and i, to hold the light of love up high

I think this is my favorite piece of music I've written so far. Before, I was writing by hand. It was very slow, and it was hard to do more than one or two notes at a time, because all I had for playing the music was Carman's recorder. I could play arpeggio chords (one note at a time), but it was hard to get something that really sounded good.

That was before I went over to the King padpad. Sorry for the name, but it is the real name. It was a typo. Then, we got the Ensemble Composer app. You can make music on it, as many parts as you like, then you can play it.